Cathy, hurrah for your efforts! I don't think it's hard to reel them in once you've been doing it for so long.

We are not seeing many butterflies here in OKC either. I mentioned in one post that we've had northern winds that IMHO are keeping many butterflies in place along the southernmost part of the country. This week the southern winds are FINALLY supposed to kick in and we will probably begin to see more.

Susan

It's nice when our DHs hear us. Sounds like your husband finds all this interesting. It won't be long and it will be getting warm--warmer than we like! I haven't seen any Cabbage Whites here yet, so you're one up on me! I am hoping this year to get all the perennials in so next year I won't be so frantic and worn out in the spring. I've got one more bed to dig and one to get the bermuda out. It's a never ending job. I, like you, don't know how many more years I can do this. I suffer at night as it is.

Sandy

Hehehe! I'm glad he heard you Cathy!
Sherry

Cathy,
HOORAY! It is so funny that your DH does hear you, despite the fact you aren't sure he is...the same thing happened with mine. It wasn't until we were at a nursery one day (I was busy looking at something else and he was wandering off in another direction) when I overheard him giving his 'expert' butterfly talk. I almost fell flat on my face! He sounded like this total expert on raising butterflies and the people were just staring at him, totally transfixed. I rolled my eyes because I thought, "Here, all this time, I thought I'd been blabbing on and on and he hadn't heard a thing I'd said!" Ha! Now, HE's the expert! tee-hee!

So, you see? They may just SEEM to not be listening but they're just sort of absorbing the info, like that Bounty paper towel, and instead of tossing it in the trash, it's being recycled for another day...

Cathy, What a sweet hubbie you have! Every so often my hubbie comes out with a zinger that shows he has been really listening, and I have to squeeze him because I'm just so excited he listens to me going on and on about butterflies and plants and caterpillars.

You have lots of butterflies--funny how just one zone makes a big difference. My milkweed is just now beginning to poke through the surface. There've only been some kind of whites, a small blue (maybe a spring azure, common ringlets, and I saw a Mourning Cloak flying across a road. That's it. Someone said they saw a yellow and black butterfly, which is probably a Tiger Swallowtail.

And I am with you on the plans--they keep me busy in the middle of the night. I try to use visualizing planting and troweling to help me get to sleep, and then I start to think, "I need to move that there," and "where am I going toput the cleome?" On and on, pretty soon, I am wide awake at 3 am. So my little technique backfires. Sigh

Susan, Ha, yeah, I guess I must have reeled him in. :) Thanks for everyone here, I learned enough to pass on now and I sound halfway like I know what I'm talking about, I think. lol I guess I'm not the only one without many butterflies from what you say. Now it's supposed to rain for the next few days. That will at least make the plants grow from last year and the year before, but it won't do much for the ones that are already jammed in their containers waiting to be planted out. I was going to dig sod today but...RAIN! I can't wait for those southerly winds to come our way. Ha, I complain when we go straight from winter into summer, and now I'm a little mad that it's not warmer. Ha.

Sandy, I think you're right about him liking the butterflies! Just today I had a BST eclose and he put it outside. He loves releasing them. I knew that he knew what those and the Monarchs are since I raise them here to release, but I didn't know that he actually knew those other things. Nice!

Gee, I'm surprised to hear you say that you haven't seen any CW's yet. I guess I just assumed that everyone south of me had them by now. Yeah, I wouldn't doubt if it will warm up before long and be warmer than I like it to be too. A person just can't win, huh? ;-)

I hope that you and I can get all our perennials in this year because I usually end up with the dilemma of rushing to get everything done all at once and yeah, it's tiring. My back suffers for it, but I keep pushing myself. I figure it probably won't get any better (DDD) and I'm trying to get it done asap. I'm far from wheelchair bound but I don't think any time goes back that it doesn't hurt. I've worked out a good system of laying down two mats on the grass in front of the flower bed I want to plant or the sod I want to dig. I sit down on the one for awhile until I can't reach of the stuff, slide over onto the other mat and then move the mat I was just on over to the other side of me to slide on after I get done with the section I'm just starting. It works out pretty good for me. Now if only I could afford to hire someone to do the push mowing, I'd be set! :) I know what you mean about the never ending job thingey. Yep, suffering at night is something I'm familiar with and wish I weren't. Sorry to hear that you're in the same boat. The butterflies are worth the work though, and I'm sure you probably agree. :)

Miss Sherry, Haha, yeah, me too! Now I guess I can move on to the next lesson. :) Btw, I feel like I've learned a lot from you on the forum and wanted to say thank you!

tdogmom aka Cal Sherry, aka Sherry, I guess both of our hubbies are good learners then. :) Sometimes I wonder if they're testing us or something when it seems like they aren't listening but actually are. Ha. That's a funny story about yours giving his 'expert' butterfly talk at the nursery. Hee hee. That's good that we aren't the only ones passing on butterfly info. I think I end up talking about it to whoever, even strangers on the street. :-D I never know who will take it to heart and who won't, so I have to tell everyone because I have to have hope for them all. You can't predict who will actually make a difference, so I say educate as many as possible. You're familiar with that. :) I sure am glad that you and others are willing to "take a chance" on people who come on here. You could have all ignored me that first year when I felt like a fish out of water when I found Monarch cats here, but you were so willing to answer questions. Thanks to you and others I raised 70 that year and 500+ last year. I've become a milkweed nut and have about 250 plants here counting the ones in the ground and the ones in big pots. :-O

Wow, just think of all of the 'paper towels' who have absorbed the knowledge that you've passed along! ;-) It must really give you a sense of satisfaction...keep up the terrific work!

bernergrrl, Yes, I think my hubby is pretty sweet, and I'll tell him that you said that...it should make his day. :) That's great that yours has been listening too. It certainly is exciting, huh.
I don't know if I have a lot of butterflies right now. I think when my milkweed, butterfly bushes, and coneflowers are blooming is when I'll have a lot. I didn't realize that there's a lot of difference from one zone to another either. Hopefully it won't be too long before you and I and others start seeing more butterflies. I'm going through withdrawal. lol It sounds like you've seen quite a few. Yay! :)

Ha, you definitely sound like me with the thinking in bed. I almost drive myself bonkers. Ha.

Cathy